Engaged
by MusicalTB2
Summary: Elle and Virgil have been together for a couple of years now since they met on the cruise, is it time to move it on? TAG verse and OC character is mine.


The way Elle and Virgil had met was one they would never forget, the two of them had been on a cruise ship with their families and bumped into each other on the second day by complete attraction. Elle remembered him vividly, a tall man with black as night hair and eyes which mirrored the colour of caramel, he wore a dark pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt which curved every muscle carved in his chest, his smile was welcoming and his voice matched the warm eyes she had gazed into as he approached her at the piano she had been playing in a hideaway room. Virgil walked in on her performance to chat, it was a meeting he treasured and still did whenever he met her on the island now, her music made him feel like a different man, one who wasn't a rescue worker but a young Cupid, he had fallen in love with every feature of her. Dark hair almost as black as his fell down gently to the middle of her back and her eyes shone like emeralds mixed with a tint of blue, she wore a dress that day which hugged her figure splendidly and a necklace with the letter E on it, it had only taken him seconds to ask her out for coffee, and that's where it all began. Two years later, and Virgil was desperately planning a romantic surprise for her, Elle had moved to New Zealand to study music at Wellington University which meant she was closer to the Tracy family and her boyfriend making seeing each other very easy, as a Thunderbird could just nip across to the country in less than an hour. Virgil sat at his piano in the lounge staring at a box on the stand which fixated his gaze even as he played, Scott walked up from the steps behind and his eyes laid on the box, he gasped and Virgil jumped.

"Wow, you're finally doing it?"

"Doing what?" Virgil stammered as he put the box into his pocket.

"Do I owe my little brother congratulations then?" Scott grinned as he leant against the piano.

"One, I'm not little you patronising mother hen, and two, it's none of your business," Virgil shrugged.

"Oh come on," Scott laughed, "it's obvious what that is, and it's about time. Whether you like it or not, congratulations Virgil!"

Virgil groaned as his eldest brother hugged him, "I haven't proposed yet," he sighed, "I don't know when to ask her. Either she comes over here and has to deal with you lot, or I meet her on the mainland."

"Doesn't she have a recital this week? It's on the calendar."

Virgil facepalmed with a chuckle, "you're a lifesaver, Scott!"

"Well, yeah that is kinda my job..."

"No, I had almost forgotten about it! I thought it was next week. This is great! I can ask her afterwards."

"On stage, or backstage?"

"Scott, I'm not going to embarrass her like that, I'll do it backstage or at the after party. That will be more appropriate."

"It's up to you, I'm only throwing suggestions. You have to invite all of us then, we want to see this proposal."

Virgil sighed, "I don't want it to be huge."

"In what way is this not already huge? You're planning to ask this girl to be your wife Virgil, that's pretty big in most people's lives," Scott clutched Virgil's arm in encouragement, "you'll want us there, and so would Elle."

"A proposal is usually private, Scott. Remember that time mum told us how dad had proposed to her? There was no-one around and he took her to a lakeside surrounded by blossom trees and lavender bushes, then he popped the question like that."

Scott smirked, "also, you were on the way and I was bored at Grandma's wondering why I was there."

"Shut up," Virgil frowned, "my point is, I want to ask Elle alone and then you guys can come and scream at us all you want, but the ask is me only."

"So, we can come?"

"I'll have to ask Elle, don't make your calendar free."

"Wow, I'm only your best friend and closest brother."

Virgil sighed, "I know, and I love your enthusiasm but, this really means a lot to me to do it the traditional way."

"FAB Virgil, you have my word. We won't crash it," Scott smiled as Virgil's grin returned.

"Thank you, big brother. I guess all I can do now is make it happen and hope she says yes."

The recital day arrived and, to Scott's delight above all, Elle had said yes to the family coming to see her recital to end the summer term, Virgil redid his bow tie in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection, the man stared back at him looking worried and Virgil touched the box in his pocket, he looked up again and another figure had appeared in the glass, he turned around and smiled lovingly.

"Grandma."

"Awwh Virgil, you look dashing. I can't believe this day has arrived."

"How do you know?"

"I may be old son, but I'm still very observant," Grandma touched the side of her nose with a laugh, "don't worry, I've kept it all a secret."

"Thank you, grandma, I don't want them all knowing."

Grandma buttoned up his shirt as she spoke, "of course you don't, this is your moment and everything will go fine."

"I just need her to say yes," Virgil ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Don't be silly, why would she say anything else but yes? You two have been a couple for two years almost three now, she's practically family."

"That's really lovely grandma, thank you."

"Well, she is. Now, let's get a move on, we have two hours to get there."

Virgil chuckled, "we're going in Thunderbird 2, we have loads of time."

"Us maybe, but the others I'm not so sure."

"I'll get us there on time. If Scott takes Thunderbird 1, he can leave whenever he wants, but I'm leaving in half an hour."

Grandma laughed as she patted his arm, "as you wish son, are Gordon and Alan joining us?"

"Yes, and John too. He landed about ten minutes ago, I think he's in his room," Virgil tied up his laces on his shoes as Grandma turned to leave the room, "thanks for the reassurance grandma."

"Anytime son, I remember how nervous your father was before he proposed to your mother, it's perfectly normal to feel anxious about it," Grandma stroked his cheek, "I'll round up your brothers so we can get going."

Virgil nodded, "thanks, see you on Thunderbird 2," he smiled then continued to get ready.

Eventually, everyone was downstairs and both Thunderbirds took off from the island, Virgil piloted Thunderbird 2 a little more shifty than usual due to what he was going to do after the recital, but if asked if he was ok, he kept his mouth shut. It didn't take long to get to New Zealand and they landed a couple of miles out from the city of Wellington, Scott walked across to Thunderbird 2 with Kayo and into the module where the others were standing next to cars.

"So, who's going with who?" Scott asked as he opened the door to his open-top BMW.

Virgil opened the door to his green Macan and helped Grandma in, "I can take three more whoever wants to come?"

Gordon hopped into the back with Alan and John following behind, "that's us sorted."

Brains laughed, "and you didn't even ask?"

John offered his spot, "sorry Brains, I can go with Scott."

"It's fine John."

Kayo smiled, "I'll go with Scott and we'll take Brains with us."

Gordon smirked as he poked his head out of the window, "caught between lovebirds Brains."

Virgil slid into the driver's seat, "shut up Gordon, let's get going," the engine purred to life and Virgil drove the car down the ramp of the module, Scott followed behind in his car with Kayo and Brains down the ramp and onto the gravel below, the module closed behind them and Virgil locked his craft up before turning onto the main road into town.

In one of the practise rooms, Elle sat at an upright piano going over the final pieces she was performing in an hour's time, she knew everything by heart and with the music in front of her, but her heart was doing flips in her chest as she thought about the upcoming performance. However, she knew her one and only was coming to watch and that boosted her confidence so slightly, she pushed the stool back and looked at herself in the mirror behind the piano. Long black hair was tied up tightly into a pretty bun with strands hanging down past her shoulders and she smoothed down a crease on a long floor-length red dress, she picked her bag off the floor and took out a pair of stilettos that she would change into later then sat back down at the piano to run through scales to really warm up. Virgil and Scott pulled up into the university's carpark and got out, the others followed them and they walked into the campus' music building, there were other people there and they looked around at the Tracys entering with great interest.

John leant in close to Scott nervously, "maybe we shouldn't have all come?"

Scott rolled his eyes, "if they take photos we won't show up, and Elle would've told anyone to keep her and Virgil's relationship a secret."

Kayo sat down with Grandma, "are you excited?"

"Very, Virgil has told me how good Elle is."

Kayo smiled, "I just hope her nerves are under control, I bet she wants this to be over already."

Someone came out of the main hall and stood by the door, "is everyone here for Miss French's performance?" He watched the nods, "come on in."

The Tracys waited for the others in the room to go in first then followed them through, the hall was lit with spotlights which shone onto a black Steinway standing on the floor glittering brightly with the lights and everyone sat down, Virgil sat in between Scott and Grandma and looked through the program he had picked up on the way in and smiled proudly, he nudged Scott and pointed to the name of one of the pieces.

"I wrote this for her."

"What name did she give?" Scott asked as he looked over his brother's shoulder, "ha, just VT."

"She doesn't miss anything," Virgil smiled back at him.

Elle stood behind the main doors into the auditorium breathing slowly, she looked down at the music she was holding and waited patiently for someone to call her name, she heard clapping and pushed the door open knowing this was her moment, the applause carried her to the piano and she stood by the instrument to bow before the crowd, she sat down on the stool preparing her music on the stand then smoothed her dress down her legs, she looked down at the floor and fluffed the hem of the dress out from under her shoe before she looked up at the music in front of her. Elle began a short program of Chopin pieces, she started with _Etude no.10_ and lost herself in the music as soon as she could to avoid getting nervous, the music flowed beautifully out of the piano and wound itself around the audience, tightly binding itself around Virgil especially who's eyes were fixated on his girlfriend. The first piece came to a graceful end and she took a moment to prepare to next piece, _'Grave'._ The first half lasted half an hour in total and she brought the last piece to an end, she stood up from the stool to bow then left the room to more applause, Gordon looked down at the row at Virgil.

"He's gone."

Scott sighed, "leave him alone Gordon, you'd be crying too if your girlfriend had played that well."

Virgil rubbed his eyes, "I'm fine, that _'Kissin'_ was amazing, I've never heard a performance like it. I'm so proud of her."

"What's in the second half?" John asked as he leant over them from behind.

Grandma rested her hand on Virgil's as she read the program, "some Rach... oh, Virgil dear how do you pronounce it?"

"Rachmaninoff Grandma. I can't wait for this piece."

John read the program, "oh and she's finishing it with some modern stuff. Looks good."

Alan sat behind Kayo, "two concert pianists under our roof now."

Kayo smiled, "you've got that right."

The door opened again and Elle felt much more enthusiastic for the second half than she had previously, she got straight into the Rachmaninoff Opus and played it extremely fast, her fingers were a blur and the audience's jaws dropped slightly in awe, the piece in its entirety was only about a minute and she laughed when it came to an end as she smiled up at the audience her eyes stopping on Virgil, she looked back at the keys and brought the tone down to play the piece he had composed. Virgil sat forwards slightly and Scott rested his hand on his shoulder in support as he watched his Elle play, the piece was lilting but heavily chordal, Grandma smirked slightly at her grandson who tapped out the melody on his knee still watching Elle, she closed her eyes as she remembered where to move her fingers to and pedalled daintily despite the tall pair of heels she was wearing under her dress. Four minutes later and she brought Virgil's composition to an end with a smile, applause brought her to her feet and she grinned broadly as Virgil stood up to clap and the rest of the family followed, she laughed to herself then left the room to get her stuff, as she got herself together she heard her phone buzz, she got it out and read the text, " _meet me out back,_ " she smiled and thought of the campus gardens, they would be lit up and blossoming.

Virgil walked round to the garden and smiled at the fairy lights in the trees making enough light to be able to see the ring, "now to wait for Elle," he said to himself as he sat down by the fountain not seeing Scott and Kayo standing at a window watching through the blinds.

Elle walked out with her bag and into the garden where she saw Virgil, she ran the rest of the way and threw herself into his arms, "oh sweetheart, you came!"

"Of course I did, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," Virgil spun her around before placing her back on the ground to kiss her.

"Where are the others?" Elle pulled back and held Virgil's hands in hers.

"They're getting us a table at a restaurant, we've parked a mile away and brought the cars."

"Good idea. So, how did I do?"

Virgil smiled, "you were fantastic, you always are. I've never heard you play like that before."

"In a good way?"

"Of course in a good way," he squeezed her cheek gently, "I've never lied to you."

Elle sat down on the bench, "so, why have you brought me out here, apart from to cool down?"

"Mainly that," Virgil chuckled, "and it's a beautiful evening."

"It certainly is, I only wish the recital hadn't been so late."

"It's only 6 now sweetie, it's not dark yet."

"It's getting that way though," she moved closer to Virgil's side and he smiled at her, "how did I really play?"

"Elle, when I say you played beautifully, I truly mean that. I'm more impressed you played in block heels."

"Ha, that was surprisingly easy," she stuck her leg out from under the dress, "they're pretty sturdy."

Virgil followed her gaze and smirked, "if I was your piano teacher I wouldn't be appraising you for that."

"Sure you would."

"Ok, I would. We'll go to dinner soon, I just wanted to talk to you."

"Awwh Virgil, we talk all the time, what's the matter?"

"Nothing honey. I'm just blown away by your performance this evening, I've never heard anything like it before and I couldn't be prouder of you, so," he stood up and turned to face her before kneeling down on one knee, "I just wondered, if you would do me the honour of being my wife?"

Elle leapt to her feet, covering her mouth with her hands in surprise, "Virgil?" She gasped as he opened the ring box.

"Could you make me the happiest man who ever lived?"

Elle nodded, "yes! Of course, I'll marry you!" She held out her hand to him and he slipped the glittering gem onto her finger, "where did you get my ring size?"

"Your mum knows it, and I looked for rings on the cruise," Virgil shrugged with a laugh as he stood up.

Elle laughed as she looked at the ring on her finger, "I had no idea you were planning this, I love you so much."

Scott and Kayo watched them kiss then smiled at each other before they closed the blinds, they made their way to the cars and Grandma nodded with a smile as she guessed what had gone on around the back of the building, Elle and Virgil took a few minutes talking to other guests who had come to watch then made their way to the carpark where the family were waiting.

"Hi everyone!" Elle called cheerfully as the family turned to see her approach, "Virgil has just proposed to me!"

John grinned, "congratulations Elle, Virgil! Wow, I didn't see that happening."

"Seriously John? It was there in crystal," Alan laughed, "so, a Mrs Tracy is coming along then.?"

Elle smiled, "yeah. I'm shocked."

Kayo wrapped her arms around her, "welcome to the family sister."

Scott clapped Virgil on the back, "congrats little brother."

Grandma kissed Elle's cheek, "I'm so happy for both of you, so happy!"

Elle laughed, "thank you, Grandma Tracy, I can't believe this has just happened."

Scott hugged her tightly, "I couldn't be happier to call you my sister Elle, when is the wedding?"

Virgil laughed, "we've got a lot of planning to do, for now, let's get dinner shall we?"

Alan nodded, "I'm starving, let's go."

Elle smirked, "Virgil told me you were sorting a table out?"

"Ha, that was a decoy," Virgil smiled as he looped Elle's arm around his, "I had to get you alone somehow."


End file.
